My account has been blocked 2 times already and I don't understand why, can you help me understand?

Dear Naike Raimondi,

Thank you for posting your question to the Microsoft Q&A forum. I understand how frustrating and stressful it is to be locked out of your account, especially when you don't know why.

I want to assure you that you aren't doing anything 'wrong,' but you are likely mistakenly triggering Microsoft's automated spam-prevention system. Your suspicion is very likely correct: doing a lot of copy-pasting is one of the main ways this system gets triggered.

To unblock your account, please follow these steps:

1. In a web browser, go to the main Microsoft account sign-in page: https://account.microsoft.com
2. Enter your Hotmail email address and your password.
3. Because your account is blocked, the system will stop you and present a screen that says "Your account has been locked" or "Help us verify your account."
4. Please follow the on-screen prompts. This will require you to enter a phone number to receive a security code via text message.
5. Enter the code you receive. This will verify your account and should lift the block.

To avoid this in the future, based on your suspicion, the most important change is to vary your email habits and reduce the use of identical, rapid copy-pasting. Here are some suggestions:

• Personalize Your Emails: This is the most critical step. If you are sending a similar message to many people, avoid using pure copy-paste. Try to change the wording slightly in each email—even just adding the person's name (e.g., "Hi Tim," "Hi Sarah") can be enough to show the system they are unique messages.
• Pace Your Sending: Instead of sending 20 emails in 5 minutes, try to space them out (e.g., 5-10 every hour).
• Ensure Your Security Info is Complete: A strong, well-secured account has a higher "reputation." Make sure you have a phone number and a backup email address listed on your security page at https://account.microsoft.com/security.

I am very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. By verifying your account with the steps above and trying to personalize your messages, you should be able to avoid this problem in the future. Please let me know how these suggestions work for you, or if you'd like assistance in navigating Microsoft's support channels.

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